Introduction
So while I'm not new to Pokemon, I am new to the competitive side of things. I understand quite a bit as I have been soaking up information about it for a couple of years now, but I have never actually used a competitive team before first hand. Help me out with this team, which IMO looks solid (although it is missing a solid lead), but my lack of experience may be leaving out a few key concepts that I may be missing.
Carbink @ Light Clay
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/88 SpD/168 Def
Nature: Calm
-Stealth Rocks
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Explosion
Analysis
Testing out the dual screens w/ Light Clay suicide lead. I was planning on running Talonflame in this slot for a more offensive team, but with the lack of Flying Gem in X/Y, I decided to take a more defensive lead in it's place. Sturdy guarantees a Stealth Rock setup, and any Reflect or Light Screen after the Stealth Rocks setup is just icing on the cake. Explosion is only there once I use all the other moves, and with it's 150/150 bulk, it may be able to pull it off occasionally. I may move to a higher utility or greater threat lead like Tyranitar or Ferrothorn, which would sacrifice the use of Stealth Rocks for more damage in Tyranitar or a better wall with Ferrothorn.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA/252 Spe/4 Atk
Nature: Hasty
-U-Turn
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump
-Dark Pulse
Analysis
Protean STAB ability is broken. 'Nuff Said. His move coverage is awesome, and the ability to change types to resist getting hit by SE moves is amazing, as long as I make the right reads. U-Turn gets me out of a pickle if I need to swap to something that Protean won't save me from, while still dealing damage. Dark Pulse is very good for dealing with Mega-Gengar as long as he doesn't OHKO Greninja. His bulk is kind of low, but with this set you sacrifice bulk for offensive power. I would also like to run Hidden Power Fire if I can find a move that is not working out too well with this set.
Exadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Earthquake
-Rapid Spin
-Swords Dance
-Rock Slide
Analysis
Exadrill has always been a top-tier Rapid Spinner, which I need to clear hazards if Talonflame can't OHKO their entry-hazard lead as I don't run Defog on another pokemon in this team. His Attack stat is amazing, and he hits like a truck post-Swords Dance. While he is amazing, I may swap him out as testing goes on for a stall-breaker with Defog, probably Crobat or a stronger lead. I may rework the EVs with this pokemon as it is sacrificing bulk for offense and I think I need to be able to keep my Rapid Spinner alive as often as possible.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Adamant
-U-Turn
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit
-Swords Dance
Analysis
Great sweeper, only downside is you will get OHKO'd by a Fire move. Everyone knows what Scizor does, no need to go into depth with this analysis too much. Not using Mega Scizor as the stat changes aren't favorable for use with it's sweeper role and loss of Choice Band. The only downside I am seeing right now is the dominance of fire moves to deal with Scizor and Ferrothorn, which will kill my Scizor in an instant.
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate/Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP
Nature: Modest
-Thunderbolt
-Sludge Wave
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
Analysis
Using Mega Gengar til it gets banned. Shadow Tag is amazing as long as they don't swap out the turn you mega-evolve (as far as I know the stat/ability changes dont get calculated during the turn you mega-evolve, although I may be misinformed). Sludge Wave covers Grass/Fairy, Shadow Ball covers Ghost/Psychic, Focus Blast covers Normal/Ice/Rock/Dark/Steel, and Thunderbolt covers Water/Flying. Good move coverage overall with great SpA damage and Speed. Loss of an item for Shadow Tag and stat bonuses is well worth it.
Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 252 SpA/252 HP/4 Spe
Nature: Calm
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Tail
-Flamethrower
-Power Whip
Analysis
Good luck finding a better SpD tank that has the offensive capabilities that Goodra has. Assault Vest is the icing on the cake, making it a beast for soaking damage. It's move coverage is decent, the only downside to this moveset is Power Whip which is Physical and most likely going to come out if/when I find a suitable replacement. Gooey comes into play when I U-Turn Scizor or Greninja into Goodra against a physical attacker, which IMO is better than the alternative ability, Sap Sipper. EVs may be reworked a bit to provide more Def bulk as the SpDef is already god-tier.
Counters
A Taunt lead would be an issue for my Carbink lead. I don't rely on Stealth Rocks too much for damage output, but it is amazing if I can get it off in time before a Taunt. I also do not run Taunt which may be an issue for dealing with stall teams. I also do not have a Will-O-Wisp or Def tank, which may be an issue if I am faced with a high speed Physical Sweeper, nor do I have access to Thunder Wave to cut high speed Sweepers.
So while I'm not new to Pokemon, I am new to the competitive side of things. I understand quite a bit as I have been soaking up information about it for a couple of years now, but I have never actually used a competitive team before first hand. Help me out with this team, which IMO looks solid (although it is missing a solid lead), but my lack of experience may be leaving out a few key concepts that I may be missing.
Carbink @ Light Clay
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/88 SpD/168 Def
Nature: Calm
-Stealth Rocks
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Explosion
Analysis
Testing out the dual screens w/ Light Clay suicide lead. I was planning on running Talonflame in this slot for a more offensive team, but with the lack of Flying Gem in X/Y, I decided to take a more defensive lead in it's place. Sturdy guarantees a Stealth Rock setup, and any Reflect or Light Screen after the Stealth Rocks setup is just icing on the cake. Explosion is only there once I use all the other moves, and with it's 150/150 bulk, it may be able to pull it off occasionally. I may move to a higher utility or greater threat lead like Tyranitar or Ferrothorn, which would sacrifice the use of Stealth Rocks for more damage in Tyranitar or a better wall with Ferrothorn.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA/252 Spe/4 Atk
Nature: Hasty
-U-Turn
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump
-Dark Pulse
Analysis
Protean STAB ability is broken. 'Nuff Said. His move coverage is awesome, and the ability to change types to resist getting hit by SE moves is amazing, as long as I make the right reads. U-Turn gets me out of a pickle if I need to swap to something that Protean won't save me from, while still dealing damage. Dark Pulse is very good for dealing with Mega-Gengar as long as he doesn't OHKO Greninja. His bulk is kind of low, but with this set you sacrifice bulk for offensive power. I would also like to run Hidden Power Fire if I can find a move that is not working out too well with this set.
Exadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Earthquake
-Rapid Spin
-Swords Dance
-Rock Slide
Analysis
Exadrill has always been a top-tier Rapid Spinner, which I need to clear hazards if Talonflame can't OHKO their entry-hazard lead as I don't run Defog on another pokemon in this team. His Attack stat is amazing, and he hits like a truck post-Swords Dance. While he is amazing, I may swap him out as testing goes on for a stall-breaker with Defog, probably Crobat or a stronger lead. I may rework the EVs with this pokemon as it is sacrificing bulk for offense and I think I need to be able to keep my Rapid Spinner alive as often as possible.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Adamant
-U-Turn
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit
-Swords Dance
Analysis
Great sweeper, only downside is you will get OHKO'd by a Fire move. Everyone knows what Scizor does, no need to go into depth with this analysis too much. Not using Mega Scizor as the stat changes aren't favorable for use with it's sweeper role and loss of Choice Band. The only downside I am seeing right now is the dominance of fire moves to deal with Scizor and Ferrothorn, which will kill my Scizor in an instant.
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate/Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP
Nature: Modest
-Thunderbolt
-Sludge Wave
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
Analysis
Using Mega Gengar til it gets banned. Shadow Tag is amazing as long as they don't swap out the turn you mega-evolve (as far as I know the stat/ability changes dont get calculated during the turn you mega-evolve, although I may be misinformed). Sludge Wave covers Grass/Fairy, Shadow Ball covers Ghost/Psychic, Focus Blast covers Normal/Ice/Rock/Dark/Steel, and Thunderbolt covers Water/Flying. Good move coverage overall with great SpA damage and Speed. Loss of an item for Shadow Tag and stat bonuses is well worth it.
Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 252 SpA/252 HP/4 Spe
Nature: Calm
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Tail
-Flamethrower
-Power Whip
Analysis
Good luck finding a better SpD tank that has the offensive capabilities that Goodra has. Assault Vest is the icing on the cake, making it a beast for soaking damage. It's move coverage is decent, the only downside to this moveset is Power Whip which is Physical and most likely going to come out if/when I find a suitable replacement. Gooey comes into play when I U-Turn Scizor or Greninja into Goodra against a physical attacker, which IMO is better than the alternative ability, Sap Sipper. EVs may be reworked a bit to provide more Def bulk as the SpDef is already god-tier.
Counters
A Taunt lead would be an issue for my Carbink lead. I don't rely on Stealth Rocks too much for damage output, but it is amazing if I can get it off in time before a Taunt. I also do not run Taunt which may be an issue for dealing with stall teams. I also do not have a Will-O-Wisp or Def tank, which may be an issue if I am faced with a high speed Physical Sweeper, nor do I have access to Thunder Wave to cut high speed Sweepers.
Last edited: